Scroll to top

A special one-day event for makers, designers, crafters + artists

The Makers & Shakers Conference

The first Makers & Shakers Conference
was held on Friday 22 February 2019,
at Deakin Edge, Federation Square, Melbourne

Keep in the loop on future events

The Makers & Shakers Conference brings together interactive Q&A panel discussions with successful creatives, social media gurus, thinkers, and maker-movement academics about the best strategies to grow a creative business.

B56A7980
Establishing, growing and scaling a creative business is difficult and full of ongoing challenges and uncertainty.

— This event is a special opportunity for emerging and established creatives to get together and discuss real strategies for taking their businesses to the next level, as well as developing a bigger picture of the handmade movement and where it's heading.

Our stellar 2019 lineup of speakers drove a very special day of discussion

The Speakers

Marcus Westbury

Marcus Westbury

CULTURAL ENTREPRENEUR + THINKER

Marcus is the founding CEO of Contemporary Arts Precincts Ltd the not-for-profit company that is leading the redevelopment of the Collingwood Arts Precinct in Melbourne. Prior to that, he was the founder of the multi-award winning Renew Newcastle and Renew Australia projects that have helped launch more than three hundred creative and community projects in empty and abandoned buildings, and reopened more than a hundred vacant shops and offices across Australia. Marcus was also the creator of the pioneering ABC TV program ‘Bespoke’.

Tiff Manuell

Tiff Manuell

ARTIST AND DESIGNER

Tiff is an Adelaide-based maker of bespoke, one of a kind clutches and accessories. Made from the canvases she paints, Tiff's bags have gained a national and world-wide reputation. She was recently invited to create a wearable art collection for the Art Gallery of South Australia, and also has her pieces on sale at London’s Tate Modern art gallery.

Emily Green

Emily Green

JEWELLERY + ACCESSORIES DESIGNER

Emily is a Melbourne-based jewellery maker whose pioneering and distinctive pieces have gained a strong local and international following. Emily recently co-founded Pinky's, a shop in Preston that stocks a curated range of products from her favourite makers and designers.

Maryanne Moodie

Maryanne Moodie

TEXTILE ARTIST + TEACHER

Maryanne is a Melbourne-based fiber-obsessed maker and Modern Weaver. Her work has been featured in New York Magazine, Anthology, and O Magazine. Maryanne was also a finalist in the Martha Stewart American Made Awards in both 2014 and 2015.

Laura Blythman

Laura Blythman

DESIGNER, ILLUSTRATOR + CREATIVE DIRECTOR

Laura is a Melbourne-based illustrator and designer renowned for her vibrant use of colour and distinctive paper collages. She has collaborated with a diverse range of brands such as Pana Chocolate, Rollie Shoes, and the National Gallery of Victoria.

Professor Susan Luckman

Professor Susan Luckman

ACADEMIC

Susan is a Professor of Cultural Studies in the School of Creative Industries at the University of South Australia, and a leading thinker on the handmade economy. She is the author of Craft and the Creative Economy (2015), and co-editor of Craft Economies (2018), and Craft Communities (2019).

Kate Berry

Kate Berry

DESIGNER, PHOTOGRAPHER + CREATIVE DIRECTOR

Doer of fresh and substantial projects, Kate has spent the majority of her life making and collaborating within multiple disciplines. She is co-founder of Lunch Lady Magazine and is now writing a book to be released next year, and spreading the love of motels through her OK Motels project.

Kylie Lewis

Kylie Lewis

DIGITAL STRATEGIST + THINKER

Kylie is a digital pioneer and former head of digital for Kikki.K. She is the founder of Of Kin, an organisation that teaches people business strategy, digital marketing, personal productivity, self-awareness and courage. Kylie is the author of Leap Stories: Intimate Interviews On Overcoming Fear, Choosing Courage Over Comfort, and Designing a Fulfilling Career.

Madeleine Dore

Madeleine Dore

WRITER + INTERVIEWER

Madeleine is the creator of Extraordinary Routines, a project exploring creativity and human imperfection. She has contributed to Sunday Life, BBC, The Design Files, and more. She recently founded Side Project Sessions to help people create time and space to work on whatever they're putting off.

Kelly Thompson

Kelly Thompson

ILLUSTRATOR, PHOTOGRAPHER + CREATIVE AGENT

Kelly has been working in the creative industry for over 14 years, having forged a career as a creative consultant. She is the Director of Maker's Mgmt, an Illustration agency and creative consultancy, and runs Maker's Mrkt, an online store encouraging people to shop from independent designers.

Emma Morris

Emma Morris

ENTREPRENEUR + MARKET ORGANISER

Emma is the founder of popular market events, Round She Goes, Makers and Shakers and The Slow Fashion Market. Emma has a background in marketing and publicity and has run campaigns and events for corporates and individuals. Her wealth of experience means she's attuned to the issues facing small and micro-businesses.

Kirbee Lawler

Kirbee Lawler

ILLUSTRATOR +JEWELLERY DESIGNER

Kirbee is a Sydney-based multi-medium illustrator and jewellery designer, whose work is whimsical, natural, quirky and dream-like. A few years ago she began turning her illustrations into brooches, which draw on the vintage style brooches she has long collected. Her work enjoys a strong fan base, especially from brooch-collecting community aka 'Broochies'.

Sina Klug

Sina Klug

FOOD ENTREPRENEUR

Sina is the powerhouse co-founder of Nútie Donuts, a Sydney brand that specialises in tasty vegan and gluten free treats. Nútie began in 2016 selling from a stall at the Bondi Farmers Market, and in just three years they have scaled operations into two permanent bricks and mortar bakeries (in Balmain and Surry Hills) and gained a legion of fans.

Naomi Green

Naomi Green

ENTREPRENEUR + FORMER LAWYER

Naomi Green is co-founder and head of product development at Tiger Tribe, an Australian brand that designs children’s gifts and toys. Naomi and her husband Ant started the business in 2007 — in the garage of their family home. Naomi is also a former lawyer. With her knowledge of intellectual property law, she will offer valuable insights into how independent businesses can protect their work from being copied.

Faye De Lanty

Faye De Lanty

CONSCIOUS CONSUMPTION ADVOCATE

Faye De Lanty is the conference MC. She has an extensive background in television, having been a decade-long presenter of Network Ten’s ‘Totally Wild’. She is now an eco-stylist, Salvos Stores Ambassador and regular presenter on the Today Show. Having merged her high-level media skills with a deep love for mindful fashion to create her dream role, Faye has carved an incredible new career out of showing people that sustainable never ever has to mean sacrificing style. Faye is extremely passionate about how conscious consumption has the power to transform the world.

The 2019 Makers & Shakers Conference was held at the amazing Deakin Edge, Federation Square.

1Z0A5253

A Message about the 2019 Conference

I’d like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for attending the first Makers & Shakers Conference. Like many of the businesses owned by those who attended, The Makers & Shakers is a completely independent small business. We self-funded the event, and spent over 12 months making sure the speakers, location and topics aligned, and that a fresh conversation opened about the most pressing issues facing the maker community. I think I speak for many attendees in saying that there was so much useful and dense information that we’ll be thinking about and digesting for a long time to come.

The idea for a conference began with a simple vision: real talk by real people who create amazing things, and to put them in a supportive environment of fellow creatives. What we didn’t envisage was the level of generosity and bravery of the speakers in sharing their stories. Work and life for creatives is nearly impossible to disentangle, and forging a successful business is full of rolling challenges that have real consequences for creatives and the people around them.

One of the overriding messages of the day was that even the most successful creatives face similar business and life struggles as emerging and mid-career creatives. We’re all trying to figure it out, and judging by the warmth in the room on the day, we can take comfort in knowing that it’s possible to work it out together, as a caring creative community.

I look forward to seeing you all at the next Makers & Shakers Conference.

— Dr. Lee Glezos | Conference Program Director

Partner with us

If you think your brand is a good fit and would like to work with us on future conferences, please open a conversation with our marketing manager Emma Morris.